Wednesday in Hawkville (a.m. edition)

WORD OF THE DAY
Live. As in, live action. As in, the two-hour session in full pads ended with a “scrimmage” between the backups.

Charlie Frye, the No. 3 quarterback, directed the offense – with mixed results. The first series ended when cornerback Kevin Hobbs intercepted a pass that was intended for wide receiver Logan Payne. The interception was bad enough, but making the situation worse was the fact that Frye opted against going to his open primary receiver for some reason.

The offense got a lick of revenge, however, as 254-pound running back T.J. Duckett drilled Hobbs to the turf at the end of his interception return.

On the second series, Frye led the offense to a third-and-goal situation, but was then flushed from the pocket to end the drive – and practice. The offensive highlights were Frye’s 8-yard pass to rookie fullback Owen Schmitt on third-and-7; a 17-yard completion to rookie tight end John Carlson; and a 9-yard pass to wide receiver Michel Bumpus.

The defensive highlights, aside from Hobbs’ interception, where rookie linebackers David Hawthorne and Matt Castelo combining to stop Schmitt after a 1-yard gain and Hawthorne – among others – holding Schmitt to no gain on first-and-goal from the 8.

The highlight as far as many fans might have been concerned was the backfield tandem of Duckett at running back and the 247-pound Schmitt at fullback.

PLAY OF THE DAY
Red Bryant. There were many candidates, but a strong endorsement from veteran guard Mike Wahle gave the honor to the rookie defensive tackle.

“Red made a bunch of plays today,” Wahle said. “He really showed up in practice and was consistently making plays on us.”

Among those plays was Bryant darting through a gap to get fullback Leonard Weaver in the backfield and using disruptive penetration into the assigned running lane that forced Duckett to bounce a run outside.

The coaches continue to take the “he’s got a lot of work to do” tact with Bryant. But the fourth-round draft choice has been at his best in the full-contact drills.

“Red has some power to him, he’s got some quicks,” Wahle said. “He’s somebody we definitely have to account for.”

PLAYS OF THE DAY
Offense: On the first play of the full-team period that usually ends practice, wide receiver Bobby Engram worked his way from the slot on the right side to get behind the trio of Hobbs, linebacker Lance Laury and safety Jordan Babineaux in the left side of the end zone to take a pass from Matt Hasselbeck.

Defense: There was Hobbs’ interception, but the nod goes to back-to-back plays Julian Peterson made in the nickel-blitz drill. On the first, while rushing from the right end spot, he would have sacked Hasselbeck (except that the defensive players are reminded on a daily basis not to touch the red-jerseyed QBs). On the second, Peterson flushed Hasselbeck and chased him into throwing the ball away along the opposite sideline. Making the plays even more impressive was the fact that they came against Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones.

Special category: It goes to Brandon Mebane, the team’s squatty 314-pound defensive tackle, for belly-bumping running back Julius Jones to the turf.

INJURY REPORT
Wide receiver Courtney Taylor sat out practice because of tightness in one of his hamstrings, but is scheduled to return Thursday morning.

Tight end Jeb Putzier started practice, but did not finish it because of a sore hip. He left the field with trainer Sam Ramsden shortly after the stretching period. Putzier returned near the end of practice – wearing a baseball cap, not a helmet.